Child-Friendly Cities in a Globalizing World: Different Approaches and a Typology of Children's Roles

Vliet, Willem van; Karsten, L.

doi:10.7721/chilyoutenvi.25.2.0001

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…As shown in previous literature, participants' conceptions of the “ideal” places for children revealed their underpinning perceptions of childhood (Gülgönen and Corona, 2015; Horschelmann and Blerk, 2012; Kylin and Bodelius, 2015; van Vliet and Karsten, 2015): the guardians in this study referred to a playground as being “good” solely in terms of safety. Guardians consistently referred to the need for a fenced space, with the quality of the play equipment given secondary importance.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

“…What exactly constitutes a CFC is under debate. As van Vliet and Karsten (2015) argue: “The Child-Friendly City (CFC) label means different things to different people, influenced by their professional interests” (p. 1). Child-friendly principles have nevertheless informed design indicators (Broberg et al , 2013; IRC/CERG, 2016; Krishnamurthy et al , 2018; NIUA, 2016; Woolcock and Steele, 2008) and guidance relevant to the design and planning of urban space and spatial interventions (Aerts, 2018; CFCI, 2019; Hoogendoorn, 2012; Horelli, 2007; Krishnamurthy et al , 2018; Kyatta, 2004; McAllister, 2008).…”

Section: The Child-friendly Playgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The public value of child-friendly space

Pitsikali

Parnell

McIntyre

2020

ARCH

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PurposeThe playground is a commonly advised means to integrate children into the public realm of “child-friendly cities”, yet research has tended not to examine it in relation to adjacent public space. This paper aims to understand the extent to which the playground – a socio-spatial phenomenon – facilitates children's integration into the public realm, enabling critical examination of the “child-friendly space” concept.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic study was carried out across three sites in Athens, Greece, where typical neighbourhood playgrounds replicate features common across the global north. Methods combined observation (167 h; morning, afternoon, evening), visual-mapping and 61 semi-structured interviews with 112 playground users (including adults and children from the playgrounds and surroundings). Rigorous qualitative thematic analysis, involving an iterative post-coding process, allowed identification of spatial patterns and emergent themes.FindingsFindings reveal perceptions surrounding the protective and age-specific aspects of child-friendly design, limit the playgrounds' public value. However, a paradox emerges whereby the playgrounds' adjacency to public spaces designed without child-friendly principles affords children's engagement with the public realm.Research limitations/implicationsReconceptualisation of the “child-friendly playground” is proposed, embracing interdependence with the public realm – highly significant for child-friendly urban design theory and practice globally. Researchers are encouraged to compare findings in other geographical contexts.Originality/valueThis original finding is enabled by the novel approach to studying the playground in relation to adjacent public realm. The study also offers the first empirical examination of child-friendly city principles – participation in social life and urban play – in a Greek context, addressing a geographical gap in literature on children's everyday spaces.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: The Child-friendly Playgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

The public value of child-friendly space

Pitsikali

Parnell

McIntyre

2020

ARCH

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“…Child-friendly cities are service cities that are similar to sustainable communities and sustainable cities in terms of urban scale, proximity, walkability, mixed-use, public space, independent travel and connectivity (Bridgman, 2004a;C. McAllister, 2008;Van Vliet & Karsten, 2015). Child-friendly cities should reflect the needs of children in all aspects and ensure that they are participatory.…”

Section: Development Of Urban Child-friendly City Assessment Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Child-Friendly City Assessment Tools – Are We Really Planning Cities for Children?

Quan,

Dali,

Zainol

2024

Intl. J. Rel.

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This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of five prominent child-friendly city (CFC) assessment tools, assessing their adherence to UNICEF's criteria. Despite variations influenced by research backgrounds and regional contexts, all tools share the common objective of fostering child-friendly environments. Notably, the research highlights the significant role of child involvement in shaping these tools, underscoring the need for their active participation in both theoretical development and practical application. By identifying shortcomings in existing administrative frameworks, the study emphasizes the urgency of adopting more inclusive urban planning approaches. Integrating children into assessment techniques and implementation strategies is deemed essential for creating cities that authentically address the needs and aspirations of their younger residents.

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“…In all, we aim at refining the ways we view equity and wellbeing within green-playful-child-friendly spaces beyond a traditionally decontextualized analysis of access and distribution of amenities. Furthermore, we employ relational wellbeing as a conceptual tool for understanding better how children's wellbeing in large cities embedded in global economic and financial flows (Moreno 2014) can be subsumed into market logics of demand and supply, favoring the creation of spaces as commodities designed primarily to increase real estate profits (van Vliet and Karsten 2015). The travel, tourism, hospitality, and real estate industries are now selling green-playful-child-friendly-ness as a consumable product to middle-class residents who have the capacity to move according to residential preferences (van Vliet and Karsten 2015; Boterman and Bridge 2015; Van den Berg 2013).…”

Section: Toward a Focus On Relational Wellbeing In Children's Urban Socio-naturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a green and playful city: Understanding the social and political production of children's relational wellbeing in Barcelona

Pulgar

Anguelovski

Connolly

2020

Cities

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This paper examines recent urban green amenities directed toward children and families and develops a novel understanding of the ways in which children's socio-natures are made/unmade through such interventions. We employ ethnographic and archival analysis in two new parks -Poble Nou and Nou Barris -in Barcelona to examine how a particular type of children's wellbeing, what we call "relational wellbeing" is shaped through the production of green-playful-child-friendly amenities. We find that planning processes and visions, urban development goals, and neighbourhood sociomaterial structure moderate the effect of green-playful-child-friendly amenities on relational wellbeing by directing how these spaces are used. This finding points toward the importance --for equity concerns --of accounting for the social and political processes that generate relational wellbeing. These processes are often reflective of broader economic agendas of urban transformation designed to extract value, control space, and/or legitimize speculative urban development -while sometimes eroding local socio-material conditions -to the point of producing green spaces of privilege, exclusion and control. The connection between relational wellbeing and green-playful-child-friendly interventions highlights the importance, within the urban environmental equity literature, of reconceptualising pathways of wellbeing and health beyond questions of spatial distribution of natural areas and offers a new perspective for the development of future guidelines on green-playful-child-friendly space policies.

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Child-Friendly Cities in a Globalizing World: Different Approaches and a Typology of Children's Roles

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

The public value of child-friendly space

The public value of child-friendly space

A Review of Child-Friendly City Assessment Tools – Are We Really Planning Cities for Children?

Toward a green and playful city: Understanding the social and political production of children's relational wellbeing in Barcelona

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